Don’t Sound Dumb At Dinner: February 3, 2012

The Athena Film Festival is coming the Barnard (just in case you haven’t noticed the signs all over campus). The festival begins February 9th, and the whole schedule can be found here.

A year after Barnard made the switch, Columbia has announced they are leaving behind the much-maligned cubmail in favor of a Gmail interface. The move will be made gradually, starting with 50 to 80 students, and by the end of 2012 all Columbia undergraduates will be on the Google system.

New YorkSusan G. Komen for the Cure pulled funding from Planned Parenthood that had been used for cancer screening. Komen is saying it is because the organization is under investigation. However it has been criticized fiercely for the decision, with many thinking it is because pressure from pro-life groups. Karen Handel, who became a senior vice president at Komen in April, campaigned for governor of Georgia and stated very clearly her personal opposition to Planned Parenthood. Response to the move has included Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledging to match $250,000 in donations to Planned Parenthood. Update: Under pressure, Komen has reversed their decision, the organization’s full statement can be found here.

USAThe Republican Presidential Primary is still raging. Mitt Romney won the Florida primary quite handily. Though as a consequence to moving their primary up so early, instead of their usual 99 delegates, Florida will only have 50.

Why you should buy Facebook stock.

Facebook is going public, meaning soon you will be able to buy shares of the college student staple. The whole company will be valued at somewhere between $75 and $100 billion, making it the largest public offering of a technology company in history. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and last year’s Barnard commencement speaker, could become a billionaire and one of the richest women in Silicon Valley.

The WorldA riot in Egypt left 600 people injured and 70 dead on Wednesday. The riot occurred in the aftermath of a soccer match, and some activists are blaming the government saying it either didn’t do enough to stop the violence or even openly encouraged it.

Samantha is a junior at Barnard and Editor-in-Chief of The Nine Ways of Knowing.